Two unconnected events led to the explosion in the use of digital wallets in 2015. The first was an inconspicuous circular by Reserve Bank of India in 2014 stating that taxi aggregators cannot allow card payments without two-factor authentication. What this meant was that debit or credit cards could not be used for the smooth checkout allowed by aggregators like Uber.

This provided an opportunity for digital wallet companies to step in with a less-riskier payment alternative. The second development was the surge in smartphone users in India with total numbers expected to cross 20 crore by early 2016. This has given a big boost to companies like Paytm, Oxigen, Citrus, Mobikwik, Payumoney.

Digital wallets are already the predominant mode of payment for recharging phones, and DTH services are picking up pace in bill payments. What has helped sweeten the deal for customers are the heavy discounts and cashbacks offered by these companies. In 2016, these companies hope to make a mark in instore payments where cash is currently king.

Wallet companies have added barcode scanners to their mobile applications which can be used to scan bills and transfer money to the shopkeeper instantly. The shopkeeper is given an app that generates the QR Code which can be scanned by customers. To make things more exciting, banks have lined up a host of deals that can be availed within their mobile wallets including booking of rail tickets without the hassle.

Laundry, yoga? There's an app for that

Though hyperlocal delivery startups like to think they invented the concept, the truth is it has existed in India since the time you could call the neighbourhood kirana store and order one loaf of bread or two packets of dahi. However, it's true that the startups have worked towards collating and organizing a market that was largely unorganized. From grocery, medicines and laundry to phone repair, yoga classes, salon services and plumbing -- everything became tagged with the terms 'on-demand' and 'hyperlocal' this year, and literally everything is now available at your doorstep at the touch of a keypad. No wonder hyper-local delivery startups attracted top investment money in 2015 -- never mind that the problems they solve are, as a Vanity Fair writer put it, "stuff your mother no longer does for you."

Ride-sharing: Deals on wheels

If 2014 was the year of transportation services like Uber and Ola disrupting traditional modes of commuting, 2015 was the year ride-sharing apps tried to do the same -- with moderate success. A clutch of apps like Ridingo, Bla Bla Car, Tripda, Lets Ride, and Rideler are trying to put more bums on seats, but predictable tussles with government transport departments have followed: Bengaluru-based startup ZipGO, with an app that aggregates shuttle services at cheap rates, had its vehicles seized, even as Uber and Ola started offering carpooling through their apps. Given the pollution rates in Indian metros and the worsening traffic situation, government agencies would probably do well to work with ride aggregators instead of against them. Maybe in 2016.

Streaming is steaming

While we are still far behind the curve when it comes to original web-content or even streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, which are seriously upsetting the long-held dominance of network television in the US, Indian entertainment on the interwebz has picked up considerable steam. This year saw original web-series like TVF Pitchers, a drama about startups; On Air With AIB, a semiserious news show modelled on John Oliver's Last Week Tonight; and MTV's Bring on the Night, a fiction show that was watched more on YouTube than on television (for which it was originally made). Alongside, websites and apps that let users stream content be came mainstream with cricket on Hotstar and movies on Hooq.

Who knows, if the US services pick up the demand vices pick up the demand from India, we may soon be able to Netflix and chill with the rest of the world.